Follow your inner moonlight (Wake up and smell the roses)
by Barriss-Before-It-Was-Cool
Summary: Part 2 of the 'Follow your inner moonlight' series: Makoto may have been left on the sidelines of higher education, but she was doing alright and there was always someone there to keep her company, even though she didn't really understand why. Makoto/Nephrite.


Hiya! I decided to make a series after the positive response I got from the first FYIM oneshot following Rei/Jadeite. This time it's Makoto/Nephrite.

Again, I've never written this pairing before and I'm not an expert on fluff, so... you know... you've been warned.

Hope you enjoy.

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**Follow your inner moonlight (Wake up and smell the roses)**

While most girls her age were getting ready for a new year of college, Makoto wasn't really feeling the absence of education with regret, and while she did sometimes wistfully imagine the fun times with her girls she had foregone, what other girl could brag about opening her very own flower shop at such a tender age?

Very few could, and that made Kino Makoto's chest swell with pride.

Looking around the still messy and bare space she had rented, Makoto couldn't help but shiver with excitement.

"Great... This is gonna be great," she muttered to herself, a huge grin plastered on her face. There was still much to be done, but with the help of her friends to support her own efforts, the 20 year-old felt like she could conquer the world.

She may have not had a family, but she had 7 wonderful sisters that didn't share her blood but loved her just as much and with their help, Makoto knew she would make it.

Those thoughts notwithstanding, she did feel a bit lonely right now, left to take care of arranging the shop on her own while the others were off to classes.

"Where did you want these boxes Makoto?" a deep masculine voice called out from behind, reminding her that she actually wasn't alone today per se.

"Just set them down next to the others," she answered and watched the 20-something year-old man carry the three boxes of gardening tools like they weighed feathers. "Thanks Nephrite," she added, her attention captured by his movements as he lay the deceptively heavy load down.

He was wearing a black tank-top, grey shorts and running shoes, while his wavy brown hair was tied in a messy ponytail.

Makoto gulped.

There was no denying Nephrite was a damn good looking man, but the girl couldn't help but feel wrong about being attracted to a guy who not only was one of the Earth's future king's advisors and thus her colleague, but a former enemy to boot. Sure, he'd been brainwashed by Chaos and he had paid his dues what with being a stone for all those years, but it still felt off to check his ass out whenever the guy bent over. God, she was a horrible human being, Makoto thought, blushing and turning away from the offending derriere.

It was embarrassing to admit, but even at this age she was still pretty boy crazy; not that she could help it, her friends were wonderful and all, but the desire for a real family of her own was still a driving force in her life. So Makoto was in constant search for a good guy that was both hot and husband-material... Well, people did tend to tell her she had unrealistic expectations, but what was life without a little blind optimism?

Unfortunately for her, trying to juggle her work, personal life and duty as one of the Solar System's protectors wasn't really working out. With the new shop and fighting galactic crime, her social life really had tumbled down the proverbial pit. There was never any time to meet new people, let alone men.

The only members of the masculine sex she actually interacted with nowadays were Mamoru and his Shitennou. And hey, let it not be said those five weren't severe eye-candy, but to Makoto, they were in some sacred, untouchable location she had no access to.

"Makoto, what should I do next?" Nephrite asked eagerly, tearing her away from her self-pitying train of thought.

"Oh! Uh… I don't know… why don't you take a break while I wipe down some of the counters and then we can start finding places for all of those tools. That sound okay?"

He smiled at her. "Yeah. Sure. Whatever you want."

Quickly turning away to hide her blush, Makoto made herself busy by starting to clean the shelves.

She couldn't deny being physically attracted to all four of the Shitennou, but there was something about Nephrite in particular that pulled her in and made her ridiculously shy in his presence.

Maybe it was how he always treated her nicely and regarded her with nothing but respect that had touched Makoto. It was pretty weird coming from him, since she had always regarded the Shitennou as a bit of a hard ass, just like herself.

He loved fighting as much as she did and he was good at it just like she was. The man was an insane warrior, an able tactician, and his mastery of the blade was almost on par with Kunzite's himself. All of that, plus his divinatory skills that rivaled, if not actually surpassed Michiru's and Rei's, made him a terrifying enemy but an even more reliable ally.

But as a natural born fighter, she had seen Nephrite be frighteningly cruel to his foes and sometimes even with his friends. Makoto knew he was extremely harsh with the younger Shitennou, and sometimes even with Mamoru too (of course Kunzite scared him too much to not treat their leader with at least unwilling respect). In fact, now that she thought of it, the guy was pretty mean to everyone he met... Well, everyone except for her.

It was something she just couldn't wrap her head around. Why a guy like him would only be nice to her of all people was baffling. The only reasonable explanation she could come up with was that they respected each other as warriors and she stuck with that. No point in finding reasons for people being nice, it was too depressing.

He had even volunteered to help with setting up the shop even though she had not dared ask.

Nephrite really was kind to her, more than so many people she had met before; were her feet not securely planted on planet Earth, she'd almost believe he had a thing for her, which would be totally ridiculous. Impossible. No way in hell.

She sighed.

Really, where the hell were her thoughts even going?

Trying to focus at the task at hand, Makoto expertly wiped down the counter until everything was sparkling. Then, she took each shelf one by one, cleaning them until not a speck of grime remained. Getting to the highest one, which was a long reach even for her, Makoto found what looked like an old tip jar that had no doubt been forgotten by the previous owner.

"Oh, that could be useful," she said to herself, already planning to use it as a donation jar in the very near future. Maybe she could give the tips to different charities each month; the thought excited her.

Raising herself on her tiptoes, she tried to grab hold of it, only for her hand to be seized by a much larger one, while another took the jar out of her grasp and placed it safely on the counter.

Makoto's breath hitched when Nephrite's scent filled the air around her – musky, just a little bit sweaty and unmistakably his.

"Please," his voice sounded tired and raw in her ear as his hand tightened around hers, the action sending a faint shiver down her spine, "be careful."

"W-what?" Makoto faltered, her eyes spinning in their sockets as the heat of his body sent her mind reeling.

"That jar could have fallen on your head and just as well have killed you." He scolded, but she couldn't really hear any anger in his tone. "I know you're used to doing things on your own, but please… I'm begging you… When I'm around, let me do these things for you." The now free arm that had released the jar moved to her waist, encircling it and pulled her closer into his chest.

A violent blush spread all over Makoto's body. "W-what are you talking about? What are you doing?" she blabbered. "Why would you even care?!" There was no logic to his words. She couldn't understand what he meant. Or why he was holding her. Or just why she felt like her heart was trying to tear her chest apart.

Without warning, Nephrite spun her around and his hands cupped her cheeks, forcing her to stare into his dark blue eyes that were so wild yet so tender Makoto couldn't believe they were aimed at her.

"Do you really not see it!?" He asked, his voice strangely desperate, as if his whole life depended on this moment. "Have I not been obvious enough?!"

The girl just stood there, mouth hanging open, blinking and blushing like mad, unable to make sense of anything anymore.

"Makoto," Nephrite took a deep breath and with his thumb, began stroking her cheek so gently she could barely feel it. "I am _desperately _in love with you."

And as if those words had not been powerful enough, as a follow-up he smiled a smile so sweet and affectionate it almost made her cry.

Scratch that last bit, it did make her cry. Somehow, someway, the gravity of his words hit her like a lightning bolt to the heart. It made her stomach do backflips and her heart somersaults; it made her feel faint, but also unrealistically happy.

"I've been watching you for so long," the Shitennou continued, his voice bleeding the deepest emotions of his heart. "Millennia have passed and I still cannot keep my eyes off you."

"You know, you were always a force of nature in your own right." He looked at her wistfully, like he was seeing his memories in front of his own eyes. "Like a typhoon, one second you were there, the next you were someplace else, wreaking havoc wherever you went, but did it with such majesty and splendor, it left me paralyzed with admiration."

Makoto's breathing slowly grew faster and to her embarrassment, felt her tears drip down her cheeks and onto his thumbs which relentlessly wiped them away.

"You remember?" her voice trembled as she spoke. She couldn't believe he still held memories of those times.

"I remember _you_." He stressed the last word with conviction and, to her shock, slowly began lowering his head.

"I remember the beautiful Princess of Jupiter, Soldier of Thunder and Courage, whom I loved more than anything in existence."

"But - " she hiccupped, not knowing why his words shook her so profoundly. "But, I'm just Makoto now! I'm not that glorious princess anymore! I'm just a tall freak, who men run away from because they're intimidated of; a lonely kid who just happened to be the reincarnation of a warrior princess from a kingdom long forgotten. I'm nothing special. I'm just Kino Makoto!"

Nephrite kissed her.

He kissed her so ardently he didn't even let her gasp in surprise. His lips firmly pressed onto hers and his arms embraced her, trapping her body in his hold. He was passionate yet gentle as he tasted her mouth and were it not for his arms sustaining her, the impact of his kiss would have made her topple over.

A sudden wave of nostalgia hit Makoto in that moment. With all the profound emotions that surged from his kiss, she was still aware of a memory sprouting somewhere in the back of her mind. It wasn't even a memory, but rather a memory of a feeling just like the one she felt now: a harmonious feeling of contentment, like this was what her life had been missing all this time.

After what felt like only an instant, though judging by her lack of air it had been several minutes, Nephrite let her breathe. He then pulled her into the warmest embrace she had ever experienced and with one of his hands, began tenderly stroking her hair.

"Yes, you're not the Princess Jupiter from the Moon Kingdom that I fell in love with millennia ago. You're Kino Makoto, the tall, simple, lonely girl I fell in love with now."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Someone feeling about her in such a way was a foreign concept in her head. After all of the heartbreak she had gone through, Makoto had thought that such love was just not meant for her. Nevertheless she eagerly returned his embrace and believed every word he spoke, because in her heart of hearts she knew it was all true. And even more so, she knew she felt the same.

She had loved him then, she loved him now, and she would love him till time stood still. And for the first time in too long, in Nephrite's protective arms, she finally stopped feeling alone.


End file.
